ERIE, Pa. — Following the installation of a new washer-extractor from Maytag® Commercial Laundry, a Shriners Hospitals for Children® site here is experiencing improved energy and water efficiency and increased staff productivity, the hospital’s manager of environmental services reports.
Pleased with the performance of a Maytag 55-pound multi-load washer-extractor installed seven years ago, the hospital opted to replace an older 135-pound washer with a 55-pound Energy Advantage™ soft-mount, high-speed multi-load washer-extractor, to help rightsize its laundry operation.
Recently transitioning from a 30-bed acute-care hospital to outpatient care, Erie Ambulatory Surgery Center and Outpatient Specialty Care Center has a four-day-a-week laundry operation, which cleans about 3,400 pounds of laundry. The 135-pound machine coupled with the existing 55-pound washer was more than it needed. For guidance in its equipment choice, the hospital connected with Maytag distributor Equipment Marketers, Cherry Hill, N.J.
“We strive to be as energy- and water-efficient as possible, and running correct load sizes for our needs is a natural way to accomplish that,” says Laurie Bowe, CHESP, manager of environmental services for Shriners Hospitals for Children®. “We were pleased with our first Maytag washer, as well as the company’s customer service. … Equipment Marketers was versed in the product and our specific application—they were the perfect partner for us.”
“Being environmentally conscious and finding new ways to operate more efficiently and within budget is crucial in the laundry rooms of today’s healthcare facilities,” says Bob English, general manager of global commercial laundry at Whirlpool Corp. “Upgrading to new multi-load, high-speed washer-extractors can significantly reduce energy and water consumption, leading to lower utility bills and more efficient operations for the facility.”
“Our laundry facility is now optimally sized, and we’ve also become more efficient from a staff perspective, completing more loads of laundry in less time,” Bowe says. “Everything has turned out wonderfully.”
